Apple Store Bellevue Square grand re-opening (gallery)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Features,

Yesterday we hit you with footage of the re-opening of the Apple Store - Bellevue Square location, highlighting the excitement of Apple's customers in the Bellevue area, as well as its employees. Today we bring you a bunch of images from the event. We must say, we've been in line at Apple launches for 12 different Apple products at some of the biggest stores in the US, but the combined customer and associate excitement we witness for the Bellevue Square grand re-opening was unparalleled. Take a peek at our Apple Store - Bellevue Square Grand Re-opening gallery, and stay tuned for our next video, which features a tour of the new location right before the doors are opened for the first time.

Gallery:

How iMessage phone number merging will work in OS X 10.8.2

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Software,

Aside from built-in Facebook integration, another major feature coming to OS X 10.8.2 is iMessage phone number merging. This functionality will allow you to receive any iMessages sent to your iPhone phone number on any approved iOS devices or Mac of your choice. In other words, if someone has your phone number and sends you an iMessage to that number (rather than your Apple ID email address,) Mountain Lion 10.8.2 will be able to receive and display them in the Messages app, and you'll be able to respond to them from there as well. It's the final missing piece in making iMessage device agnostic (well, as long as it's an Apple device.)

To merge your phone number with your Apple ID after you update to OS X 10.8.2, simply launch Messages and log in to iMessage. You'll then get a prompt that asks if you'd like to associate your phone number with your Apple ID. If so, just select Yes, and you're done! OS X 10.8.2 is set to be released this fall.

Win a pair of Monster N-Tune headphones in the Be NCredible photo contest!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, Music,

Monster is giving away a pair of its NCredible N-Tune headphones, along with a Back to School Prize Pack full of other cool prizes, in its Be NCredible photo contest - and I'm a judge! To enter, just head on over to the Facebook contest page and submit a photo of your NCredible moment. Make it funny. Make it inspiring. Just make it stand out. You have until September 12 to enter, and five grand prize winners will be announced on September 21 after we pick through all the entries to find the cream of the crop.

Click to continue reading Win a pair of Monster N-Tune headphones in the Be NCredible photo contest!

Read More | Enter the Be NCredible Photo Contest

Western Digital My Passport Edge packs 500GB into a tiny package with USB 3.0

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, USB, PC / Laptop, Storage,

Western Digital has announced another external hard drive, this one called the My Passport Edge. Available in both Mac and PC flavors, the My Passport Edge is all about compact portability. the drives are about the size of a deck of cards and can hold up to 500GB of data, passed back and forth over speedy USB 3.0. The Mac version is configured with out-of-the-box Time Machine compatibility and sports a brushed aluminum finish for $119, while the PC version includes custom backup SmartWare backup software and black exterior for $109. Both are available now.

Apple set to launch Pandora-like streaming music service

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Music, Rumors,

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is working on a streaming music service that would give iTunes, Spotify- or Pandora-like functionality. However, the details are scarce at the moment. Here's a Tweet from Dennis K. Berman:

Click to continue reading Apple set to launch Pandora-like streaming music service

Read More | WSJ

5 features that make the Nokia Lumia 920 shine

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Microsoft,

Yesterday Nokia announced its new Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 smartphone. If you're in the market for a new device, this is one you'll want to take a look at. While there was no specific launch date named, there were a few features that definitely caught our eye. In fact, we've compiled the top five Nokia Lumia 920 features for you after the break.

Click to continue reading 5 features that make the Nokia Lumia 920 shine

Apple Store Bellevue Square grand re-opening excitement (video!)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Videos,

We were on hand to witness Apple's grand re-opening of its Bellevue Square Apple Store, and the festivities were a sight to behold. We'll have much more info for you from the opening, including a private tour and interviews, but we thought you guys would get a kick out of seeing how Apple opened the store for the first time to hundreds of excited customers. As you'll see, Apple staff came out in full force, riling up the crowd with anticipation through cheering, high-fives, and that familiar Apple charm. Stay tuned for more from the Apple Store - Bellevue Square re-opening. Check the video for the goodness.

Wrap-up: Amazon announces all new Kindle family

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Features, Handhelds,

All attention was on Amazon today as Jeff Bezos took the stage to anounce the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD, as well as updated Kindle and Kindle Fire units. In case you missed any of the action, here's all of our coverage on today's event:

• Live from Amazon’s Kindle event!
• Amazon Kindle Fire HD: 7- and 8.9-inch tablets starting at $199
• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite offers illuminated touch display for $119
• Amazon Kindle HD 8.9” 4G LTE Wireless offers 250MB monthly data for $50 per year
• Amazon’s entry-level Kindle is now just $69
• The new Amazon Kindle Fire: Twice the RAM, twice the performance, $159

And of course, you can now pre-order all of the new Kindle hardware:

• Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE
• Kindle Fire HD 8.9"
• Kindle Fire HD 7"
• Kindle Fire
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Kindle Paperwhite 3G
• Kindle

Students being pulled out of Chinese classrooms to build iPhone 5?

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Rumors,

We at Gear Live have been hearing early morning reports from Shanghai Daily that hardware manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., AKA Foxconn, has been allegedly pulling Chinese students from classrooms in preparation to build Apple's iPhone 5. The social network, Sina Weibo, has been filling up with claims that at least 200 students from the Huaiyen Institute of Technology were being escorted to Foxconn factories under the guise of being enrolled in a "school to work program" or "Internship." The students will allegedly be paid $224 per month to work 12 hour shifts, six days a week. Now, possibly as a result of public scrutiny,  Shanghai Daily is reporting that students are being brought back to classrooms and instead are  being offered to volunteer for the so-called school to work program.

Click to continue reading Students being pulled out of Chinese classrooms to build iPhone 5?

Read More | Shanghai Daily

Amazon Kindle HD 8.9” 4G LTE Wireless offers 250MB monthly data for $50 per year

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

Amazon had one final trick up its sleeve during today's Kindle event, showing off a new Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE wireless built-in. The 8.9-inch Kindle tablet offers the same features as the base Kindle Fire HD 8.9, but packs in an AT&T 4G LTE modem and 32GB of storage space. Additionally, Amazon has worked in a killer deal for this model, as buyers can opt to pay a yearly $49.99 fee for 250 MB or 4G data per month. They'll also receive 20 GB of additional Amazon Cloud Drive storage and $10 in Amazon Appstore credit. 250 MB of monthly data may not sound like much, but it's an incredible deal at $50 per year. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 with 4G LTE Wireless starts at $499. That's $130 more than the 32GB non-LTE model, but it's still much less than $$739 32GB iPad + Cellular tablet. You can order the Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE now, and it'll ship November 20th.

Read More | Amazon Kindle HD 8.9" 4G LTE